Avellon Williams
SOUTH AFRICA- On Thursday, over 100 sex workers and activists marched in Pretoria in support of decriminalizing sex work.
From Burgers Park, the group walked, singing struggle songs and holding placards that read: “Be wise, decriminalize sex work”, “Sex workers have the right to be free from violence” and “My body is my business. Sex work pays my bills”.
A memorandum was handed over to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. Justice minister Ronald Lamola’s office signed the memorandum and promised to respond within a week.
As revealed by the department in May, Parliament’s draft bill to decriminalise sex work had been sent back to be revised after legal advisers flagged problems. Through extensive public consultations, the draft bill decriminalises sex work to ensure better protection for sex workers.
There is, however, no provision for how changes in the legislation will impact existing regulations in various municipalities.
“I came to support the march because I also want sex work to be decriminalised,” said Thoko Mokoena. She said she has been a sex worker for more than 20 years.
“We’re being criminalised and police torture us. I have been pepper sprayed inside a police van, and they have poured cold water on me one night.”
She said that at health facilities “once you reveal that you’re a sex worker, the nurses have an attitude towards you”.
With the money she makes from sex work, Mokoena supports her three children and four unemployed siblings.
Katlego Rasebitse, the national organiser of Sisonke, said decriminalizing sex work is lacking political will. “While we wait, sex workers are being murdered daily and are still being policed. Their body autonomy is controlled by the state, especially black women. They face the brunt of police brutality,” said Rasebitse.
The South African National AIDS Council’s (SANAC) Civil Society Forum’s Mmapaseka Steve Letsike addressed the marchers, “Our message is very clear: government must decriminalise sex work. The Minister of Justice has made a commitment. We don’t want this process to be delayed any further.”
According to the organizations, the delay in policy reform is a cruel and unnecessary punishment by the Department of Justice: “It tortures us psychologically and undermines our right to dignity and equality. It cannot be correct that the department becomes a law unto themselves and unilaterally decides to postpone decriminalisation of sex work to the seventh administration”.
Mluleki Zazini, National Director of the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS, said, “The more government delays decriminalisation, the more sex workers will suffer under the poor law enforcement system in this country. We are going to continue supporting the call of sex workers.”
The march was organized by the Asijiki Coalition for Decriminalization of Sex Work, the Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Taskforce (SWEAT), the Sisonke National Sex Workers Movement, Show Me Your Number, the Civil Society Forum, Access Chapter 2, and the South African National AIDS Council.
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